Abstract
It has been demonstrated that expertise in sport influences standing balance ability. However, little is known concerning how physical contact in sport affects balance ability. The aim of this study was to examine whether differences between contact and limited-contact sport experiences results in differences in postural control. Twenty male collegiate athletes (10 soccer/contact, 10 baseball/limited contact) and ten male untrained students stood quietly on a force plate under various bipedal and unipedal conditions, with and without vision. Significant differences for sway area and COP speed were found between the soccer players and the other two groups for unipedal stances without vision. Soccer players were found to have superior postural control compared with participants involved in limited contact sport or no sport at all. Contact sports may lead to increased postural control through enhanced use of proprioceptive and vestibular information.
Highlights
Expertise in sports which required good balance, e.g. gymnastics and dance, is of particular benefit to postural control [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Posture is controlled by integrating visual, proprioception and vestibular information [7]
One limitation in postural control research is that previous studies may have been “contact sport biased” in non-gymnastics sports such as soccer, handball or American football [1,2,3]
Summary
Expertise in sports which required good balance, e.g. gymnastics and dance, is of particular benefit to postural control [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Posture is controlled by integrating visual, proprioception and vestibular information [7] These three types of information are obtained from the environment and the task [1,3,8,9,10,11]. Balance studies have been conducted on a variety of sports [12,13], the amount of physical contact involved has not been taken into account when attempting to clarify how expertise in sport contributes to postural control. To obtain this information, a prospective study of contact experience is necessary. In the review of balance and various sports the consideration of the amount of contact involved in a sport is not addressed [14]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
